Making a will

H

Haille

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Forgive my ignorance I am looking for information on drawing up a will.I have a few questions that i cannot seem to get the answers to .My wife and I have a family home and an investment property both jointly owned. All our savings are in joint accounts. We have 3 children aged 27, 24 and 21.If either of us dies will my wife or I automatically inherit both properties and savings as we are joint owners.No need for will in this scenario?
In the event of both of us dying at the same time I can see the benefit of making a will. Is it possible for my wife and I to make a joint will or do we have to make separate wills with all the same details in both. I find it difficult to understand how I can will 2 properties and savings when I am only equal joint owner. Will a solicitor charge for making two separate wills? Does this date back to the time when the male was often registered as the sole owner of the property? Any advice please.
 
"I Mr. Haille of askaboutmoney.com being of sound mind and sound body, do give and bequeath, my property real and personal as follows:

a) if my spouse survives me, in total to Mrs. Haille or

b) if she should pre-decease me, in equal shares to our surviving children... "

or whatever the legalese is. Without getting too morbid, words such as those above should cover most scenarios.

I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. You will need to consult a solicitor.
 
Haille:

Your interest in property is either by 'joint tenancy' (survivor takes all) and tenancy-in-common (by will). In the event of simultaneous death then it is tenancy-in-common. By that is meant your will decides or if no will the Succession Act.

You can prepare similar wills if you like.

Joint bank accounts are deemed to be 'joint tenancy' i.e. to survivor.

None of this implies that there would not be potential tax issues.

The cost of will is quite low - and to be frank this would have been explained to you.
 
Haille said:
In the event of both of us dying at the same time I can see the benefit of making a will. Is it possible for my wife and I to make a joint will or do we have to make separate wills with all the same details in both.
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Because you have children you absolutely need to make a will. Therefore it will be two wills, one for you and one for your wife and both will be the same, as you've outlined. A solicitor will do the wills cheaply for you, it's just a standard will based on what you've posted. Please do not attempt to draft a will yourself.
 
Just wondered in the above example where a couple have 2 properties jointly owned, joint savings accounts.If both owners die simultaneously what are their 3 surving adult children [28, 25, 22] entitled to under the Succession act assuming no will has been made Are both properties and savings divided equally between the 3 children.
 
Haille said:
Just wondered in the above example where a couple have 2 properties jointly owned, joint savings accounts.If both owners die simultaneously what are their 3 surving adult children [28, 25, 22] entitled to under the Succession act assuming no will has been made Are both properties and savings divided equally between the 3 children.
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If there is no will, and both die simultaneously, the Succession Act provides for equal division between the children.

Another (less unlikely) scenario to consider is one parent dies, and the other parent takes all the joint property and still does not make a will before death. In that case, it's the same outcome: equal division between the children.

If one of the children pre-deceases the parents, then the per stirpes rule applies: that means if that child has left children, then that child's share is divided between his or her children.
 
You have property and investments worth a few hundred thousand Euro. It is worth your while talking to the experts regarding your will, it might cost you a couple of hundred quid for both peace of mind and ensuring that your wishes do no cost your spouse and children and emotion time and money in sorting out your estate.
As very few couples die at exactly the same time (even in the event of accidents/disasters etc), the will of the first person to die comes into play first.
If the second person dies without having made a will, then the fun really starts.

Why leave hassle behind you?

When both you and you spouse make your wills, tell your children of the contents and the executors and of the name of the solicitor holding the most recent edition of the will.
 
Many thanks unsub, Padraigb and Thirsty. Will probably get a solicitor though as it stands with both properties jointly owned and savings jointly owned if either one dies first the other automatically receives the lot and if both of us die simultaneously both properties will pass equally to our 3 adult children via the Succession act.
 
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